Battle of Dongxing

The Battle of Dongxing was a battle in the Three Kingdoms Period of Ancient China, taking place at Dongxing, south of Hefei New City (Xincheng), in Yang Province. The forces of Cao Wei, led by General Sima Shi and his brother Sima Zhao blundered into a strong Eastern Wu army under the command of experienced commander Ding Feng, who used the rivers for his divide-and-conquer strategy that inflicted heavy losses on the Wei army.

Background
Following the death of Emperor Sun Quan in 252 AD, the Kingdom of Eastern Wu fell under the rulership of Sun Liang, his young son, after rancor within the Imperial Court. Prime Minister Puyang Xing deposed Sun Wan, the young successor and placed Liang on the throne, starting the internal corruption that would lead to Wu's collapse. Cao Wei General Sima Shi decided to attempt to conquer Wu following Sun Quan's death. He appointed Sima Zhao commander and dispatched armies to attack Wu from three directions. The leader of one of those forces, Hu Zun, built floating bridges to cross the river and surround the two castles of Dongxing.

Battle
The Wu commander, Ding Feng, attacked Hu Zun's encampment. Not expecting the attack, Hu Zun was caught off guard and his forces turned to flee. However, the bridges they crossed over on were destroyed and they were cut off, drowning many troops. Hearing this, Sima Zhao called off the entire attack.